Military experts from Africa, the United Nations and Europe have drafted plans to recapture northern Mali, officials said yesterday, as one faction of the Islamist rebels who occupy the territory called for talks

A source with knowledge of the plan said the plan would involve a force of more than 4,000 personnel, mostly from West African countries.

â€œEvery military option will be used â€” ground and air,â€ the source said, asking not to be named.

Once an example of African democracy, Mali fell into chaos after a coup in March in the capital Bamako that toppled the president, leaving a power vacuum exploited by rebels for their takeover of the north.

International military experts drew up the plan at a week-long meeting in Bamako and submitted it yesterday to the West African regional bloc ECOWAS for approval. The blueprint will be reviewed by the UN Security Council in mid-November, setting the stage for action.

The Security Council gave African leaders 45 days from October 12 to draw up a plan for military intervention to retake control of the north. Diplomats say that any such operation is months away, however.

The source present at the planning meetings said a military headquarters for the mission would be set up in Koulikoro, about 60 km from Bamako.

US-based risk consultancy Stratfor said an intervention would likely drive al Qaeda-linked fighters out of their strongholds â€” Timbuktu, Gao, and Kidal â€” and into the mountain ranges of Mali and Niger where their influence could be contained